Antonella is a Ph.D. student at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Her research is focused on black corals that are important engineer species of cold water and deep ecosystems and have been overexploited for the jewelry market around the world. Very little is known about their basic biology, and the main objective of her research is to evaluate the status of black corals in the California Gulf and to better understand their biology to develop tools necessary for their protection. Her interest is to study deep coral ecosystems so she needs to advance her skills in technical diving.